There are many unexpected, amusing and utterly strange things that I have experienced in the last 4 months. Life here is never boring. Here is a list of some of the occurrences (not complaints; observations!) that I hope will give you a taste of my life in Africa so far... enjoy!
ONLY IN AFRICA....
...would you have lizards living in your bathroom and behind your curtains
...would you have excitable small children follow you when you walk through villages
...would you get ants almost an inch long crawling up your leg
...would you be sitting on someone's knee in a bus on the way to town, or be one of five people sitting across three seats
...would you get people shouting out of car windows at you, asking whether you're married yet
...would you have to wait several minutes to drive through a gate in the evening because the guard has gone to sleep
...would you see more Manchester United stickers in cars than you do in Britain
...would you have someone ask you, over dinner, about how much you weigh
...would you have a policeman stop you in the car and ask you for some money to buy a soda
...would you get mosquito bites through your socks after only being out of bed for three minutes
...would you be asked to go to the front of a church and sing a song for everyone if you're a visitor
...would you pay the equivalent of 80p to get a new watch battery, and have it fitted on the spot
...would you make a very slight slip of the tongue when trying to ask for a knife and fork at the dinner table and end up accidentally saying the word for a certain anatomical feature that should really not be mentioned in polite company
...would you have a woman suggest that her newborn baby boy could be your fiancee when he's a bit older
...would you have your Swahili teacher ask you if you live on Downing Street (a joke, I think...)
...would you have bananas growing in your back garden
...would you have people in shops call your name out across the street when you pass, even when you've only been in there once before
...would you have your phone service provider send you a text to say Congratulations! Because you've just topped up, you've earned 20 minutes of free talk time... to use between the hours of midnight and 6am
Feel free to add, if you have any experience of Africa!
This is about a very tough but very valuable lesson that God taught me recently. I want to share it, despite the fact that it's glaringly honest (for me!), so that maybe other people can learn from it and be even more grateful to God for what they have. And I want you to ask yourself, is your love for anyone or anything keeping you from following God's will for your life?
Since I can remember I've sung songs in church with lyrics such as “You're my everything”, “You're all I need”, and “You are more than enough for me”. But I never stopped to think that I was completely untruthful in singing those words. I had so many things that I felt like I needed. And in the last few months I've realised that the only way you can really come to know that God is actually all we need, and that God is completely enough, is by having everything else stripped away from you. And when this happens, and it's clear that all you have left to hold onto is God, that's when you realise he is everything.
My decision to join Wycliffe and go to live in Africa was not made lightly, but also was completely inevitable – it's what I've known for a long time that I would eventually do. And not just what I would do, but what I wanted to do. So I'm in a strange paradox of suddenly being exactly where I want to be and having the life I wanted, yet at the same time having lost everything I held dear. I knew that doing this was going to mean giving up a lot, and it did – firstly my relationship, which ended because our lives were going in different directions. And of course my family too – leaving not only meant not being around my family, but missing the birth of my brother and sister-in-law's first baby. I was obviously also leaving lots of wonderful friends from university/home/Wycliffe, and a church where I was known and welcomed.
But I don't want to paint a bad picture of my decision. It is the best decision I've ever made! Yes, to some extent I've 'lost' everyone I love, and I've left behind all the familiarities and comforts of home. Yes, I've put myself in a place where the culture doesn't always make sense, the standards aren't what I'm used to, and basic communication with the people is a barrier. BUT – I've been placed right in the centre of God's will, right in the place I've wanted to be for so long, and doing a job that could not be any more perfect for who I am. I love linguistics, and God hasn't just given me this a skill but as a passion. I love travelling, and have wanted to go to Africa for as long as I can remember. Since my early teens I've wanted to do some sort of mission work, or at least something which was specifically 'churchy' rather than having a normal job. I love God and I love the Bible, and both have transformed me over the years like nothing else could ever do. So look at the enormous blessing of being able to role all these things into one – my faith, my skills, my passions and my life goals. God has been shaping me for this since before I was even aware of it, and so being here right now feels like being Cinderella's foot in the glass slipper – like I've really arrived exactly where I am meant to be.
Of course, that doesn't make it easy! I had a tough week last week. I had a phase of really missing family and friends back home. I can't use Skype here for various internet and phone reasons, so even though I can email and use Facebook, I can't properly chat to people. I'm really desperate to catch up with friends. Also, Swahili classes were becoming a little frustrating due to the frequent swapping of teachers and the slowed-down pace of learning. The campsite was undergoing changes because of new managers coming (and then leaving 10 days later because of a contract falling through) which meant the standards of food and the help available was fluctuating a lot. On top of all that, I was sleeping really badly, which got gradually worse until I only got 2 hours of sleep one night.
I was so tired and ill the next day that things really came to a head. I rang my mum, only to be cut off a few minutes later by my credit running out, and then she couldn't get through to me again. Things seemed to have hit a new low – everything was going wrong and I couldn't even speak to my parents! I was really upset and felt like God had forgotten how much I need the people who love me. Somewhat reluctantly, I got my ipod out and made myself listen to songs of the Psalms. I knew I needed God's word more than anything else.
It was at that moment when I realised that actually, I still had everything I needed. I still had God. And at a time when it felt like literally everything had been taken from me – my family, my friends, a place that I understood – I knew that God was absolutely and completely enough. He brought me here because he knew I could do this with his strength. He knew I could endure the lonely times, the confusions and the frustrations because I have him by my side and I have my faith. He pours more love and blessings on me each day than any of my closest friends or family members ever could. And his word can be trusted more than anything else in this world.
I realised there is no other way that God could have taught me this lesson, without taking so much away from me and then showing me that I still had MORE than enough. It was painful, and still is! But I know now that I had to learn it, because I placed too much value on having all these 'things' and not enough value on my relationship with God. I'm so grateful for learning this lesson because it gives me so much hope and strength for my uncertain future. I can be assured more than ever before that I will always have God – he will never leave me nor forsake me, even if everything and everyone else does. I feel disciplined and humbled at the same time, knowing that it was another one of God's slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-fish lessons to get me to give him more of my time and more of my praise. They help me to grow each time!
To finish off, here's some scripture that God directed at me through other people at least 3 times in the months running up to my leaving the UK. It spoke to me so plainly, and I hope it blesses you for any sacrifices you have made for the sake of following God .
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life”
Matthew 19:29.
Brace yourself for a huge blog post... this is long overdue so I have a lot to say! Feel free just to read the first few sentences and then comment at the bottom about how you loved reading it all. I won't know.
So, I've been at Riverside Campsite for nearly 5 weeks now. It's been a really interesting month living here. It's a beautiful location, with countless trails and paths to explore, as well as rocks to scramble on and a river to swim in! 3 of us went on a hike a couple of weeks ago where we found a zipwire over the river, which was great fun. The weather is mostly warm and sunny but we've had a lot of rain as it's the wet season now. Because of the altitude, the climate here is lovely and cool compared to Dar, which is extremely hot! It feels like English summer at the moment, but hotter when it's sunny. Lovely :-)
Swahili lessons were at first a bit of a shock! Not because of the long sessions, or even because of the early mornings (yes, I'm still a student at heart, but I CAN get up early...) but because of the speed we had to retain so much new information all at once. The way they teach here is much more practical and interactive than the ways I've learnt languages before, not to mention challenging! Even after the first morning I felt really overwhelmed and out of my depth. We were frequently talking and being put on the spot to remember vocab and answer questions, which I must admit has never been my preferred learning style! I like to process things in my own time, but in language learning, this is obviously not effective. 5 weeks into the course, I can say that although the lessons can be tough, I'm so glad I'm being taught this way. I'm literally amazed at how much I've learnt in such a short time, and how much I can now say in this brand new language. The teachers and the tasks have pushed me to learn quickly and just to have a go at things rather than always being cautious. Learning German at school, I was very hesitant to speak unless I knew I was completely correct, and so if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't usually try at all! But this course is really pushing me out of my comfort zone, and teaching me how to make mistakes and learn from them rather than get discouraged by them. My confidence in speaking is growing by the day.
For the first 3 weeks, there was a big group of Tanzanians staying at the campsite for a conference. They were all really lovely and it was great to have people around to practise our Swahili on! They were always really encouraging and loved the fact that we were trying (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to speak their language, even though they all spoke English. We played volleyball with some of them every day, which was a great language learning experience, as well as a really fun way to get to know them! And every day it felt like I was understanding more of their conversation and was able to say more about myself.
Living on a campsite and in a 'tented banda' (big-ish tent with a thatched roof) has certainly been interesting! It's comfortable, but because of the tropical climate and the current rainy season, everything is damp all the time. It's really hard to dry things properly, and also my books have gone a bit wiggly like when you spill water on them. But we're heading towards the dry season so it won't be a problem for too long! Last week after the conference group had gone I was moved into a proper stone banda, which is more like a little lodge. It's nice because I now have much more space and storage and even my own bathroom, as well as a big double bed to myself! There are bugs everywhere here, but I've got used to them now. My resident gecko Gilbert lives in the bathroom and eats lots of the bugs, which is helpful. Also if a big wasp or beetle comes into my banda (all the insects are SO much bigger here!) I'm always armed with my “DOOM” spray which sends the little buzzers up to insect heaven nice and quickly.
Siafu... what are siafu, I hear you say? It's the Swahili word for ANTS! They are everywhere at the moment because of the rains, but they're fascinating because they make long lines across the paths, thousands of them, transporting food and eggs from one nest to another. You need to be careful not to step on their carefully created motorways if you're walking in the dark, because they're quick to run up onto your feet and legs and bite! I've found at least two so far half way up my trousers after walking back to my banda. Yuk. But still, as long as you're not always getting bitten, they're really interesting to watch.
The power here is, erm, quirky. There are power cuts usually every day, often for hours on end. I'd say we have power maybe half of the time. It's not too much of a problem because I'm not really using much electrical stuff, but if it's cut off in the evening, that's a bit of a pain because it's completely pitch black and there's not much you can do. We sometimes watch a movie in the dark if someone's laptop is charged enough, but often we just read by torchlight or go to bed early! I like my headlamp. Headlamps are cool. There is a fun side to the dark too - when the campsite has a blackout and it's a clear night, the stars are amazing. I haven't seen so many stars since lying on the deck of a cargo ship on the Mekong River. It's incredible. One night last week we climbed up to a nearby rock in the darkness and laid on top of it, watching the stars. We could also see flashes of lightening from a storm far away. It's that kind of thing that make this really feel like an adventure :-)
This is a proper essay, and you probably haven't got this far down, but kudos if you have, and I'm gunna keep on writing. Also, Lydia was hassling me to post something. So this is for you Lyd, I hope I'm keeping you up. ;-)
What else have I been up to? Well, I go into town a lot, which I really enjoy. And not just because I love markets and shopping! The town centre is busy and bustling and colourful, and it's a great way to practise my Swahili, of course. It's a bit of a maze and a treasure hunt – not much is signposted, so it's hard to know what a shop sells without going into it. Most of the shops are just little huts with stuff crammed inside and more stuff spewing out into the street too. If you know where to find them, there are some beautiful little cultural shops. They sell jewellery made by the Maasai tribe, stunning material for clothes and lots of other little trinkets and souvenirs. I love it all, so it usually takes at least two people to drag me out. There's also a great place to visit called Neema Crafts, which is a project set up to give employment to local disabled people. They work in the workshops making all sorts of craft items, which are then sold downstairs and all the profits go back into the project. There is also an internet cafe upstairs (which has been very helpful, and is only Tsh500, equivalent to 20p, for half an hour) and a little restaurant too, which has lovely coffee and ice cream. It's just nice to get away from the campsite sometimes and experience a bit of Tanzanian life in the town! Getting to and from town is an adventure in itself. We need to catch a dala-dala, which is a little minibus seating maybe 20 people. But this is Africa, so they just cram in as many people as possible! You're either standing up in a stooped position with your head against the ceiling, or sitting on someone's lap, or sharing two seats with 5 people and their shopping. It's certainly an experience. Not to mention the fact that we're a bit of a spectacle, especially if we're in a group – white people are called 'wazungu' and the Tanzanians are not quiet about staring, talking about us or cracking a few jokes on our behalf! One day I'll be able to understand what they say and laugh along...
Our last 3 weeks of the language course will be in town, and so we will be living in a guest house there. I can't wait! They decided it would be good for us to be immersed in the society properly for a while, and they will probably give us assignments to do while we're there, like go around asking questions to find out information about things. And as you can imagine, I'm quite happy to spend my afternoons poking around the markets and drinking chai with the locals!
I had my first safari experience last weekend! We had 2 new girls come to the campsite last week, and as one of them is only here for a week, she wanted to do as much as possible around this area. So 8 of us organised a 2-day safari trip to Ruaha National Park. It was great fun! The 3 hour ride there was along a single bumpy dirt track in a land rover that had seen better days, so that was something I won't forget in a hurry! We were then driven round the park for a few hours and saw lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes – you name it! Very exciting. We then went to a local bar for dinner (where we waited 2 hours for our food because there was a football match on the telly...) and then went to our accommodation for the night which was 'government bandas' (small round metal huts with two beds in each). I slept fine, but woke up to realise I had been eaten alive by bedbugs. I have about 50 red blobs on my arms and feet, which looks pretty gross. I was a bit freaked out when I saw them all! Fortunately, the bites don't itch at all, they just stay there for a long time. But added to my scabs and scratches from a bad fall last week, I look like I've got the plague or something. So anyway, the next day we had a morning drive round the park and then headed back to the campsite. In all, a really great weekend!
I think this is just about enough for now... I keep thinking of more things I want to write but I'll leave it for another time. I'm hoping to get my own internet set up soon – I can get it on my phone, but can't at present get my phone to talk to my computer to act as a modem. When I do, I'll hopefully be skype-able! I'm missing family and friends a lot at the moment, and though I really get on with people here, it's obviously not the same as having good friends around who really know me. So I love it when I hear from people – send me a facebook message or the odd text and you'll make my day!
I've now got a local sim card and my number is +255686760221
My postal address here is Riverside Campsite, PO Box 2421, Iringa, Tanzania. (Please don't send me any mail after mid-May, because I'm leaving here at the beginning of June and they won't forward anything to us if it comes here when we're gone!) Also, I have stamps and would love to write to people but didn't collect any addresses before I left! Please send me your address!
I have some pictures up on my facebook page. I've just tried to upload a couple to this post, but I'm not in my internet cafe of choice and it's painfully slow here. Will upload some soon!
I was pretty much packed, and then there was the whole "oh no! My big coat! I haven't put it in yet!" episode, followed by scrunching up of waterproofs and sitting-on of suitcases to get all the stuff in. Then there was the list-writing bit where we made a list of stuff that we need to buy in Tesco on the way to the airport... one of the items being luggage tags, because I'm now taking three bags for the hold instead of two, due to the never-endingness of clothes, books and Marmite jars. (I joke; there's only one of those).
It's not easy packing your life for the next two years into a few bags! Thankfully, there is a postal system (albeit a teeny bit unreliable) with which I can be sent home comforts. And Marmite jars.
Address to follow.
